The Crazy Mercenary Commander Goes to Work in the Entertainment Industry

Translator: Dreamscribe

Kang Jae-ha was looking at Choi Ri-na, with her long purple hair. In both his and Choi Ri-na's ears, that all-too-familiar woman's voice was speaking.

【Comrade encounter confirmed.】

【The comrade (subordinate) has awakened thanks to Kang Jae-ha-nim's achievement of the Other World objective.】

It made sense. Choi Ri-na, busking on the streets of Hongdae, had been a subordinate of the Mercenary Corps.

【Should the comrade (subordinate) commit betrayal, treason, or similar acts against the Commander, it will be regarded as a violation of the applied 'Absolute Obedience', resulting in death.】

.

.

.

While the woman's voice was still going on, Jae-ha wore an indifferent expression and gaze. His eyes fixed on Choi Ri-na. Choi Ri-na, for her part, was also staring at Kang Jae-ha in considerable surprise. Only, the degree of her surprise wasn't all that great compared to the other subordinates.

Just then.

"Gwaaagh!"

A man's groan came from the side. Go Chun-seok was still gripping the back of the red-faced man's neck. The man's companions, who had been pestering Choi Ri-na moments earlier, had completely lost their swagger and were paralyzed, cowed by Go Chun-seok's overwhelming aura.

Kang Jae-ha then turned his eyes and gave a simple instruction.

"Let him go."

The moment the order came down, Go Chun-seok nodded and released his grip. Freed, the man pitched forward onto the ground, retching. Two of his companions quickly moved to support him. To them, narrow-eyed Lee Chan-hoo issued a chilly warning.

"Get lost. And learn to drink properly from now on."

The men squealed something high-pitched and scampered off. Around then, Cha Chung-hyeon let out a small yawn and, finding standing too much trouble, settled himself primly onto a nearby bench. Lee Chan-hoo and Go Chun-seok stood close to the Commander.

Once the area had more or less been sorted, Kang Jae-ha asked Choi Ri-na.

"Were you busking?"

Choi Ri-na, who had been blinking up at Jae-ha, suddenly broke into a smile-eyed grin.

"Wow! Wow!! It really is the Commander-nim!!"

Her tension's as high as ever. Kang Jae-ha murmured to himself and let out a small laugh.

"Yeah, it's me. Long time."

"Totally! Super long time!"

"But you don't seem all that shocked?"

"That's not true! I'm super shocked!"

"Your energy's low compared to the other guys."

Choi Ri-na giggled and continued.

"If I'm being honest, Commander-nim, the other day I happened to spot you in an article!"

"......"

"The photo wasn't super clear so at first I wasn't sure, but it really was you!"

She seemed to be referring to a BIFF-related article. Kang Jae-ha had blocked most photos of himself, but stolen shots were unavoidable. Choi Ri-na clapped her hands together with a snap! and spoke again.

"Crazy! It's not just you, Commander-nim, there are other people too."

After briefly looking around at the faces of Lee Chan-hoo, Go Chun-seok, and Cha Chung-hyeon, Choi Ri-na smiled with her eyes again.

"Amazing, amazing, totally amazing."

Kang Jae-ha studied the high-strung Choi Ri-na carefully. The energy wasn't forced.

'She was always like this. Quick to adapt, too.'

Soon Jae-ha's gaze landed on the acoustic guitar Choi Ri-na was holding.

'That said, this I didn't see coming.'

He had assumed his subordinates would have all kinds of jobs in this world, but he hadn't expected one to come out as a flat-out singer or celebrity. Or, to be precise, a trainee. Kang Jae-ha recalled what Park Ja-hee, CEO of LX Entertainment, had told him in their earlier meeting about the acquisition.

'Ri-na......she was one of the members of a girl group that flopped. Now she's the only one left. Her talent is the most outstanding of them all. She was the Main Vocalist, and she's pretty good at composing too.'

On top of that, she could play several instruments. Only, recently Choi Ri-na had suddenly become withdrawn and depressed. After organizing CEO Park Ja-hee's words in his head, Kang Jae-ha made a request to Choi Ri-na, who stood before him.

"Guitar. Can you play?"

"Yes! As much as you want."

Nodding gamely, Choi Ri-na swept her long purple hair back and lifted the acoustic guitar. She started playing again.

-♬♪

Gentle but rhythmic, the rhythm gradually growing stronger. He hadn't heard the song before. Probably an Original Song. They'd said she was good at composing. Go Chun-seok, quickly drawn into the guitar's melody, parted his lips slightly, while Lee Chan-hoo and Cha Chung-hyeon admired her internally.

'Oh-'

Kang Jae-ha was no different.

'She really does play well.'

Her guitar skills were top-tier. Not an amateur's touch but a professional's. Around this point Choi Ri-na abruptly stopped playing and laughed.

"Ah, this is embarrassing, that's enough!"

Kang Jae-ha applauded lightly and tossed out a question.

"Original?"

"Yes. I made it right after coming back to this world, while thinking about the Other World."

Kang Jae-ha, who had been scanning the bystanders that had gathered around, changed the subject.

"Let's talk somewhere."

Choi Ri-na lowered the guitar and nodded.

"We should, right?"

Late at night, 'MEG' office.

It was late, but the lights were on in the 'MEG' office. Kang Jae-ha's day wasn't over yet. Jae-ha sat down first at the six-seater table and gestured to the seat across for Choi Ri-na as she came in behind him.

"Sit."

"Whoa, what is this place??"

She looked around the office and sat opposite Kang Jae-ha. Lee Chan-hoo, Go Chun-seok, and Cha Chung-hyeon settled wherever suited them. Ha Yeon-ji, who'd been contacted late, was also on her way. Kang Jae-ha had told her not to come, but she'd insisted on seeing Choi Ri-na for herself.

In any case, Choi Ri-na, still looking around the 'MEG' office, parted her lips again.

"But really...this is wild."

"Is it?"

"Of course! With the Commander-nim and the others all here in this world!"

Bouncing in her seat, Choi Ri-na asked another question.

"How many more are there besides the people here??"

"Let's see. Counting you, five."

Kang Jae-ha deliberately left Kim Ho-yeon out.

"We're gradually adding more, and I'd guess there are quite a lot if you count domestic and overseas."

"I see......but Commander-nim, your aura's a little different."

"Is that so."

"Yeah! You're still scary, but it's not impossible to look at you anymore??"

"Seemed to me you were looking at me just fine, though."

"Not when I first saw you, Commander-nim. Back then even making eye contact was super hard."

Just then the office door swung open in a hurry. The one who appeared was Ha Yeon-ji, in a cap. The instant she spotted Choi Ri-na, she let out a huge welcome.

"Oh my! Oh my, oh my! Look who it is!"

"No way!"

Ha Yeon-ji hugged Choi Ri-na fiercely and then went to town fussing over her face. It was understandable behavior. The Mercenary Corps wasn't without women, but there had been fewer of them than men. So the women had been fairly close among themselves.

Of those two women, Kang Jae-ha kept his eyes on the smile-eyed Choi Ri-na.

'She seems to be adapting well enough.'

Choi Ri-na had been non-combat personnel in the Mercenary Corps, like Cha Chung-hyeon. Cha Chung-hyeon had handled supply and materiel, so he'd at least taken part in battles, but Choi Ri-na had nothing of the sort. Of course she didn't. Choi Ri-na's main duty in the Mercenary Corps had been cleaning.

Main job: janitor. Side gig: something like a bard.

Singing now and then to cleanse the mercenaries' hearts. A supporter, if anything. One who didn't take part in combat.

There had been others besides Choi Ri-na who handled cleaning and other domestic chores for the Mercenary Corps, but among them Kang Jae-ha had always found Choi Ri-na the most striking. It wasn't only the Commander who thought so. Lee Chan-hoo, propping his chin in his hand and watching Choi Ri-na bounce around with Ha Yeon-ji, thought the same.

'Mm, right, she sang well back then too. Had a great voice. Heh, I remember a few of the Mercenary Corps guys falling for her and pulling all kinds of bullshit.'

Then a horrific scene came back to Lee Chan-hoo. The Mercenary Corps under attack. The wholesale slaughter of the domestic staff. Choi Ri-na had been among them. Raids were a daily occurrence, sure. But the Commander Lee Chan-hoo had seen that day. That is, Kang Jae-ha's expression had been nothing like usual.

'I'd never seen the Commander's face like that. Pure rage all over it. Like he'd tear apart anyone who crossed him.'

Enough to make a man piss himself just looking at him. And in fact, that day Kang Jae-ha had torn apart and killed countless members of the Demon Race or Demonic Beasts. For a moment, feeling a chill, Lee Chan-hoo glanced sideways at Jae-ha. The now-composed Kang Jae-ha murmured to Choi Ri-na.

"How did you keep up the abilities you had even in the Other World, vocals and instruments and all? There must've been limits."

"Ah! It was hard. But composing was possible as long as I had paper, and that world had instruments too. Not exactly the same as the ones here, but! I practiced in secret too."

"......"

"There were pros and cons! The pro was emotional experience?? Music is ultimately made out of experience, emotion, and your own imagination! Who else has experienced life in another world?"

The con would have been the changed environment, too. Nodding slowly, Kang Jae-ha crossed his legs.

"I heard from CEO Park Ja-hee that right now you can't sing."

"Ah."

Her energy quickly faded, and a bitter smile took its place on Choi Ri-na's face.

"That's......I don't really know. Why, that is. Ever since I came back here, when I try to sing it just doesn't work. Like something gets stuck somewhere in my throat?"

Something like PTSD, perhaps. As cheerful as she looked, there might be some psychological damage. The same was true of Kang Jae-ha and the other subordinates, every one of them had experienced death at least once. But Choi Ri-na was upbeat.

"Still, I keep working on it! I think it'll come back someday!"

"It should."

Eyes filled with sympathy, Ha Yeon-ji comforted her.

"Ugh, what a shame, your singing and your voice were really so beautiful."

"I'll be able to sing again soon!"

Choi Ri-na had a different grain from the other subordinates, Kang Jae-ha thought. At a glance she might seem similar to Cha Chung-hyeon, but in the end they were worlds apart.

'Rather than putting her to work at MEG, growing the abilities and talent she has would be the right call.'

The picture wasn't of putting her to work at 'MEG' but of signing her to 'MEG' as an artist. Ultimately, what about helping her recover her lost vocals and putting her on stage as a Singer? Imagining, however briefly, Choi Ri-na holding her own solo concert, Kang Jae-ha smiled faintly.

'Whichever way it goes, as long as she's at 'MEG'.'

A celebrity belonging to the Mercenary Corps. Clearly, the grain was different between the other subordinates and Choi Ri-na, but the path was the same. Kang Jae-ha then explained things to Choi Ri-na. The procedure was the same as with the others. The direction of 'MEG', and so on.

Lee Chan-hoo handled the supplementary explanations here and there.

Even while listening, Choi Ri-na ran through a whole range of expressions. The most pleased one was Ha Yeon-ji.

"Hah, seriously, with me being the only woman here it's been kind of dreary, you know? Ri-na, just look how much brighter the place gets with you sitting here."

Cha Chung-hyeon, who had been listening the whole time, chimed in quietly.

"That would mean... the Commander's dreary too."

"Huh? No! Not the Commander! It's you guys who are dreary."

Go Chun-seok shook his head solemnly.

"I'm not dreary."

Quietly listening to her comrades' exchange, Choi Ri-na laughed with high energy.

"What, the mood here is so nice! It really brings back the old days. Oh no, I'm gonna cry!"

Kang Jae-ha asked her again.

"Choi Ri-na, what are you aiming for in this world?"

"Hmm. Before I went to the Other World I was an Idol. But that crashed and burned. Honestly, I wanted to be a Singer! A Singer-Songwriter!"

"What are you good at?"

"I can play pretty much all instruments well! Hmm, lyrics and composition too! And I sing well! Well, I used to."

Lee Chan-hoo cut in.

"Oh, confident, are we?"

"I'm actually really good...okay? Ah, but what should I call you here? In that world I just used informal speech, but here it's...oppa?"

Awkwardness immediately settled on Lee Chan-hoo's face and he cleared his throat.

"What's with the oppa. I'm just an old guy. Use informal speech here too. Same thing, isn't it. Just be a little careful in front of other people."

"Mm! Got it!"

Around the time the form of address had been settled, Kang Jae-ha called out to Choi Ri-na.

"What'll it be. Are you going to stick with us at 'MEG'?"

When all the comrades turned to look at Choi Ri-na, she got a little flustered.

"I... wasn't I already on board? Don't ditch me, Commander-nim. I want to be with you guys no matter what. Ah! But I don't know if I'll be much help."

"It's fine. You just need to be a celebrity under 'MEG'. Grow well and bring in money, and that's what being a member is, nothing more to it."

"Oh! Really? I was going to do cleaning or something here too if there was nothing else!"

"Forget it. You just focus on getting your voice back and growing."

And so another subordinate, Choi Ri-na, joined 'MEG'. At the same time, Kang Jae-ha thought the territory his subordinates covered was steadily expanding.

'Interesting. Not boring at all.'

To Choi Ri-na, who was being nuzzled by Ha Yeon-ji, Kang Jae-ha changed the subject.

"By the way, what's your 'Ability'?"

Choi Ri-na's eyes widened and she answered right away.

"Ah! Everyone has one, right?? But mine......it's super trivial. Have you heard of Perfect Pitch?"

"I have."

"It's like an upgraded version of that? So if I think of any experience or image, musical ideas come pouring out, and just by listening to a piece, the notes naturally unfold in my head."

She seemed to have been born to make music. It was anything but a trivial Ability. Musically, on par with a broken character.

"Playing instruments is a bonus."

After hearing the description of her 'Ability', Kang Jae-ha posed a question.

"So composing is easy for you. Could you handle Drama OSTs, Film Scores, that kind of thing?"

Choi Ri-na grinned and nodded.

"Total cakewalk!"

In Jae-ha's head, a plan was already taking shape.

*****

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